Miniature Table Saw with more ooomph

[Zhangliqun]

I have a Proxxon but it just doesn't have the testosterone to cut anything heavier than plastic or balsa -- no surprise because it is for hobbyists. Cutting forbon or wood more substantial than balsa is sooooooo slooooow and it balks and squawks like a chicken half the time.

Anyone know of a miniature table saw with more beef?

[epizootics]

I live in Europe so I can't help with specific brand names, but table saws and the likes are one of those things where you're better off finding an old one on Craigslist than buying it brand new. Older machines tend to be sturdier and more powerful. I use a small 30+yo band saw for this purpose, it's really easy to keep in shape and it will probably run for another fifty years. Nothing wrong with Proxxon tools per se, but they are more of a hobbyist thing than professional machines.

While we're back on the classic 'cutting forbon' theme, a sharp hand plane is the best way to give flatworks their final dimensions. Mark the edge with a razor blade, stick the strip in a vise and take small passes until you reach the line. It'll leave you with a perfect, smooth edge, and it you're using something like a well set-up No.4, you can take off as little as 1/256" in a pass. Not bad for a $20 tool! It's also a lot less dangerous than using a router to clean up the edges. A lot of the time, when I do custom jobs and only need a couple of flatworks, I roughly cut them out with heavy duty scissors and finish them with a plane, round the edges off on a sanding beam, run a card scraper along the burr, and voilą. It's the cleanest, fastest method I found to far.

[Bloomfield]

In the past there were very nice little tablesaws with sliding tables meant for cutting type blocks for letterpress printing. I'd provide a photo but it is a difficult thing to search online and I am on my way out the door. I was offered one of these saws years ago but couldn't take it at the time as I was moving. It was a very high-quality cast-iron saw with a powerful motor and would be ideal for your purposes. Depending on the arbor size, you can use slitting saw blades (meant for metal) which are available in very thin sizes.